General Ecology and Biometry

BIOL 1462

Course Manual 2008

Department of Life Sciences

INTRODUCTION
This course is one of the core introductory courses for majors in Biology and
Environmental & Natural Resources Management. The first half of the course
deals with biometry, the second half with ecology. It equips students with basic
experimental and data management skills needed for most areas of biology, and
provides the necessary background for advanced courses in more specialised
areas of ecology.
This manual does not repeat information available elsewhere. In
particular, students should read the relevant parts of:
BIOL 1462 Course Outline. Available as hard copy ($1), and free online in
myelearning.
Life Sciences Undergraduate Student Handbook. Pay particular attention
to the section (8.3) on Field Classes. Available online at
www.sta.uwi.edu/fsa/lifesciences/documents/handbook.pdf
BIOL 1462 Past Examination Papers. Available online at
www.mainlib.uwi.tt//exams/search.asps
COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, the student should:
understand the levels of ecological organisation and the types of studies
associated with each level of organisation
have a knowledge of the major factors which affect the distribution and
abundance of organisms
appreciate the factors which influence the structure of ecological
communities
understand the functioning of ecosystems via movement of energy and
nutrients.
Practical skills should include the ability to:
assess spatial distribution patterns
estimate population sizes and population parameters
investigate community structure and function using a variety of methods
which may involve field work.
Biometrical skills of the student should include:
the ability to understand and interpret statistical data
the capacity to assess numerical evidence and methods
think evaluatively in relation to scientific experimentation
express the results of statistical evaluation in a clear and concise manner,
comprehensible to a reader who does not have a specialist knowledge of
the subject matter.

REPORT WRITING FOR ECOLOGY

The aims of writing an ecological report are to:
Summarize the literature on a subject.
Present the results obtained and the methods by which they were
obtained.
Present your interpretation of the results.
Relate your interpretation to the rest of the literature.
The structure of the report
Conventional reports are arranged into 4 main sections:
Introduction
Methods and Study Site Description
Results
Discussion
These four main sections are often subdivided. Also important are the Abstract or
Summary and the list of cited References.
Introduction
The Introduction serves to:
Introduce the subject/organism/phenomenon under study.
Summarize and present all the relevant literature available.
Specifically state the aims and objectives of the study.
Methods
The Methods section describes how the results were gathered.
The description must be clear enough so that the study or experiment can
be repeated.
The site description usually includes climate/ microclimate, relief and other
relevant abiotic parameters.
Specialised equipment used should include brand name and place of
manufacture.
Results
This section presents observations in a processed form (raw data should be
included in an appendix).
There must be text which emphasizes patterns in the data which are
ecologically important and which will be discussed later.
Figures and graphs are useful to summarize data.
Hypotheses should be accepted or rejected according to the results.
No interpretation of the results should be made here.
Discussion
This section is where patterns in the data are interpreted in an ecological context.
Ecological interpretations should be compared to the literature.

The implications of validation or rejection of hypotheses should be

discussed.
Alternate hypotheses should be suggested if those tested are rejected.
Conclusions should be drawn.
Further work may be suggested.
Abstract or Summary
This is a concise 100-200 word summary of the report.
It is usually written after the report is finished so as to include all relevant
and important points.
It includes the main points of the Introduction, Results and Discussion.
Figures and Tables
Tables must be in a standard format.
Figures and tables must all have self-explanatory titles; legends may also
be necessary.
Axes on figures must be labelled.
References must be made to figures and tables in the text.
Reference lists and citation of references:
References should be cited for all facts or conclusions which you did not gather
yourself, and for all methods not designed by you.
Citations of references maybe found in the Introduction, Methods and
Discussion.
All references should be cited in the text in the form (author surname, year
of publication).
All references cited should be listed in fall in the reference list.

ECOLOGY

Life table and fecundity schedule for meadow grass Poa annua. Follows
survival and reproduction (seed production) of cohort of 843 plants

Age
(3 months)
x

Number
alive
lx
nx

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

843
722
527
316
144
54
15
3
0

1.000
0.857
0.625
0.375
0.171
0.064
0.018
0.004
0.000

dx

qx

mx

lxmx

121
195
211
172
90
39
12
3

0.143
0.271
0.400
0.544
0.626
0.722
0.800
1.000

0.00
0.42
1.18
1.36
1.46
1.11
2.00
3.33

0.00
0.36
0.74
0.51
0.25
0.07
0.04
0.01

lxmx 1.98

Adapted from Begon, M. and Mortimer, M. (1986). Population Ecology: A Unified

Study Of Animals And Plants. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.